Tequila Sunrise
by Rohir Nephele
Summary: Harry's detective job at the Ministry seems calm enough - aside from his arrogant, cocky, over confidant partner! Can Harry remain sane as he learns about himself from working with Draco Malfoy? (DMHP slash) (Based on Fake!)
1. An Odd Pair

FF.net header:  
Some things you should all know: this version of Tequila Sunrise is the fanfiction.net version and my differ slightly from the version I have on my Fiction Alley account (pen name: Nephele). Most chapters of this story will appear here first as a sort of trial run! ^_^ Enjoy! Oh, and I don't own any of these characters by the way -- eh, you know the drill.

New part of the disclaimers that I left out cause I am dumb like that:  
As was pointed out, this is based on Fake! I thought I'd mentioned that, but apparently not. Also thought I had left the asterisks in there where I quoted directly from Fake! but again, found they too were gone. All the disclaimers have been re-added, and the asterisks have been replaced, along with the book quote, page, and character speaking in the foot notes. Obviously, I don't own Fake! or the characters I just like it a whole lot.  
And, for anyone who is gonna wonder, based on the fake characters, here's how it breaks down…  
Draco -- Dee  
Harry -- Ryo  
Ron -- Bikky  
Hermione -- Carol  
Seamus -- J.J.

Tequila Sunrise  
Chapter One: An Odd Pair

__

Draco lounged casually behind his sturdy mahogany desk, leaning back in his chair with his feet resting on a small pile of paperwork that had long since gone unnoticed and lay stained with coffee rings. His arms tucked behind his head and his eyes closed, Draco's mind wondered as he listened to the _clack, clack, clack_ of the ceiling fan that turned noisily over head, offering little cool air to the room. Of course, a minimum wage Ministry job in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement hadn't ever been what Draco had seen for himself in life, but sometimes life is cunning and tosses that trick Quaffle out at you when you least expect it.

The war hadn't been long, as evenly matched as the sides were. Sure, there were times there when both sides had their doubts. And Draco would know. As much as it had pained him to turn on his family and all he was expected to be, his reasons to fight along side Dumbledore was much more pronounced than any reason there was to stand beside his father and Voldemort. Oh, being a double agent was easy enough, especially since Snape was there to mend every slip-up Draco made, which were few and far between anyway. Yes, as far as he was concerned, he was a sneaky little bastard. And damn proud of it, he was.

Which is what landed him where he was now. Once Lucius was killed by Voldemort (as Voldemort blamed Lucius mainly for so many defeats when for some reason his strategies and plots never seemed to work), Draco and Narcissa found his will left nothing to anyone - not the manor, nor any form of money. Hell, he didn't even leave furniture to anyone. And so, it was the all Hell broke lose and it was every Malfoy for him or herself, everyone taking whatever they could grab. All and all, Draco and Narcissa were forced to fend for themselves. Sure, a life without house elves and a giant manor to live in wasn't what they were used to, but after five years, they began to get used to their new way of life. At least they could make their flat look like home with some one the furnishings they managed to sneak off with.

"Malfoy."

Draco opened one eye to the person who had entered the office nearly unnoticed. _Harry._ Draco's somewhat-similar-to-a-Muggle-detective job came with one perk: the somewhat-similar-to-a-Muggle-detective partner.

"Hmm," Draco replied, opening his other eye and stretching his arms up, before sliding his feet from his desk and leaning forward in his chair. As his eyes fell on Harry, he smiled in a way almost reminiscent of how he did back in Hogwarts. Harry sighed and shifted uncomfortably under Draco's gaze, seemingly having forgotten what he came into Draco's -- their -- office for. "Are you going to say anything?" Draco asked, "or stand there until I stare straight through your robes?"

Harry blushed deeply and twisted a rolled packet of papers around nervously in his hands, turning his eyes to the floor. "McFadden in Broom Regulation sent these down this morning for review," he said handing the rolled parchment to Draco, who reached out casually to accept. After a few seconds of reviewing the documents, the blonde sighed and ran a hand through his hair seeming somewhat annoyed. "What?" Harry asked, wondering just what about an update on the recent broom smuggling could be so agitating.

"You just had to roll my documents, didn't you, Potter?" Draco drawled, causing Harry to sigh and shake his head.

Some things would never change.

"I'm sorry," he said, his statement becoming more of a question as he spoke. "And they are our documents, Malfoy," he continued, "Don't forget we are _partners_. I don't work for you."

Draco grinned, tucking a stray strand of blonde hair behind his ear. "Of course," Draco said, nonchalantly waving a hand in the air as if to dismiss Harry. "We've gone through this a million times, Potter."

"Yea," Harry said as Draco flipped through the documentation packet again. After a minute or so of awaiting a reply, Harry sighed and turned toward the door. "When you fill that empty space between your ears, Malfoy, you'll know where to find me."

Draco didn't look up as Harry left the office, but kept looking at the papers, seeing thought the words - through the paper - a wide grin forming on his face.

Maybe some things were about to change.

-------

"And he's still bossing you around?" Ron, clad in tan slacks, a white shirt, and a loosened, lopsided tie asked from behind a large pile of paperwork on the kitchen table in his and Harry's small London flat.

"And I don't understand why," Harry, still wearing his work attire also, replied. "We've fought about it at least a hundred times, and he simply will not get it through his head."

Ron laughed at this, disregarding Harry's serious tone. "I don't see why he can't keep that in his head," Ron said, still chuckling a bit.

"Why?"

"Well, Harry, there's certainly plenty of room in there."

A smile showed faintly on Harry's lips as Ron's rather harsh words fell upon his ears. It slowly slid away though, and Harry shook his head in bafflement. "No antics now, Ron, it's far too late," he said, sighing quietly. "Tomorrow I'll just try and talk to him again. And we'll fight again. And he'll kick me out of the office… again. And then, I'll be right back where I started."

With a comforting gaze, Ron reached across the small table and put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Endless loop of Hell, aye mate? Don't worry though. If he gives you a nasty time, just kick him in the shins."

Harry smiled again, and put a hand on top of Ron's. "Thanks," he said looking up from his cold coffee. "You really know how to make it all better for a little while, you know. Well, I'm gonna get to bed now, alright?" Ron nodded as Harry stood and walked across the kitchen to his bedroom. He watched as his best friend closed to door before tuning back to his paperwork.

__

"You really know how to make it all better for a little while," Ron thought, flipping a sheet of parchment over and taking a sip of his coffee. _"For a little while…"_

"Oi! Harry!" he said quickly, loudly pushing back his chair and standing up behind the table, looking at Harry's closed door. "What do you mean, 'for a _little_ while?'"

A/N - no Fake! situations or quotes here…


	2. Stay the Night

Disclaimer:

Again, just want to mention that this is based on Fake! as well as Harry Potter and will contain similar situations and even near-direct quotes, which have been marked with asterisks* and then cited at the end of each chapter.

Tequila Sunrise  
Chapter Two: Stay the Night

__

The clatter of the ceiling fan only made Harry's intense headache worse as he sat behind his and Draco's desk looking over a stack of new material on a crime ring dealing in possessed Muggle items - another task left to him by Draco. It seemed that Draco's new found hobby, instead of teasing and leading on poor Seamus daily, was sending Harry on stupid missions around the level and having him sort out incredible amounts of dull, tedious paperwork. The telltale slamming of the office door made Harry's headache worsen two-fold: once for the intensity of the sound, and twice because he knew it was Draco who'd entered.

"Potter. Out," the tall blonde drawled as he flopped down onto a cream-colored sofa against the far wall, opposite the desk, and draped an arm over his eyes. Harry sighed loudly, stood, slamming his hands down onto the wooded desk, and started intently at Malfoy. The blonde lifted his arm from his face and returned Harry's powerful gaze. "Yes?" he asked coolly, raising an eyebrow at the dark haired man behind the desk.

Harry sighed and looked down, running a hand through his hair and turned to leave the room. The sound of Draco's voice however, stopped Harry in his tracks. "Coffee," he said. Harry only looked back in time to see Draco putting his arms back over his face. With a shake of his head, Harry fought off the urge to jump on Draco and beat him senseless - a feeling he'd been suppressing since the day he formally met Malfoy - and turned to leave, snatching Draco's coffee cup as he left, and slamming the door behind him. If doors could speak, their office door would be screaming in bloodcurdling pain for the thousands of times it'd been slammed ruthlessly.

As soon as he was gone, Draco dropped the arm that had been covering his face down so his fingers grazed the floor. He sighed loudly to himself as he ran his fingers over the rough carpeting. _"You're so bitter,?_ he thought, _"You're always so bitter to me, Harry Potter. When's the last time I saw you smile - smile at me? Have you ever? I wish you would, just once. You're smile is so. . . hot."_

-------

The rustle of papers turning and the scratching of quills carried through the air in Harry and Draco's office late into the night, and well past suppertime, only interrupted by, of course, the occasional outburst of screams. Harry had finally come to the conclusion that whoever it was who made the decision to make him and Malfoy partners was officially insane.

"Well, that's the end of it," Draco said, interrupting Harry's train of thought as he placed the last sheet of parchment onto the stack of "out" work. "What time is it?" he asked, lifting his gaze from the finished work.

Lifting his head from the pillow on the couch, Harry pulled back his sleeve a bit and checked his watch. "Just past eleven," Harry said quietly before dropping his arm back down and sighing. Exhausted was too light a word to describe how run down Harry was feeling. It seemed that the fighting he and Draco constantly were engaging in was only increasing, along with the hours they'd have to put in at work to finish everything. And Ron was worrying too. He reminded Harry somewhat of a paranoid mother or wife -- only not quite a woman. Whenever Harry worked late, Ron would be up and waiting with a lecture ready to fire off. Some nights, Harry half expected to see Ron in a pink bathrobe and slippers with curlers in his hair. And that was quite horrifying.

"Come on then, unless you want to sleep here," Draco said, taking Harry's coat off the peg on the wall, and tossing it at Harry. The dark haired man made no attempt to catch the tan jacket though, and simply let it drop over him. With a distressed huff, Draco crossed the room and pulled the jacket off Harry. "Look, Potter, either stay here or get your coat on and leave!"

Snatching his jacket back, Harry gritted his teeth, not wanting to start another ruckus. "I'll stay here, then, thanks."

Draco settled down onto the sofa near Harry's feet, despite the odd look from his partner. "Then, I'll just have to stay here with you," the blonde said, running a hand casually through his hair.

"You are impossible!" Harry said loudly, sitting up and pulling on his jacket. But, Draco only laughed as his partner struggled to get into his jacket.

"I know, I know. Come on," he said, standing and offering his hand to Harry, who took it, but not before giving Draco a second off look. "What?" Draco inquired as he helped Harry up.

"You're so weird, Malfoy," Harry said, shaking his head and walking to the door.

Draco sighed. "Now, Potter, we both know some traits, like your inability to understand more complex beings, such as myself, are simply inborn. Don't question them. Still coming for dinner?"

Harry scoffed and shook his head. "Malfoy! It's nearly midnight, there's no time for dinner."

"Don't be silly, Potter. There's always time for dinner." He grinned and shrugged his shoulders as he nudged Harry out of the way, opening the door himself. "You first, I insist."

-------

Draco's flat was quite impressive -- and quite clean. At least, it was cleaner than Harry could have imagined it to be. Lavishly decorated in maroon and shades of gold, the whole environment made Harry remember his Hogwarts years. "Nice colors, Malfoy," he said, standing with a hand on one hip in the small entryway. Draco just turned around and gave Harry a 'don't ask' glare.

As Draco lead Harry into the kitchen area, the lavish furniture lessened, and more conservative, practical furniture took its place. Harry mimed Draco when the blonde draped his coat over the back of a chair.

"Take a seat," Draco said as he walked over to the icebox and pulled out a few things. "Or have a look around while I get this started." Despite his invitation to snoop around Draco's more-than-humble flat, Harry chose to remain in the kitchen, making many failed attempts to assist Draco with the cooking. He, however, only managed to snag a few olives from the salad, and received a cold glare from Draco in exchange.

Draco's cooking was decent enough, but Harry didn't think he could live off it. Though, in comparison to what happened last time Harry tried to cook, Draco's meal was a culinary delight.

The pair remained virtually silent through dinner, with the exception of a small comment every few minutes. It was expected though, since they had very little in common, but at least they were not fighting. Harry remembered all those meals back in Hogwarts when Draco and his cronies would saunter over to the Gryffindor table to give Harry and Co. trouble. Then it hit him.

"Ron!" Harry said suddenly, standing up and grabbing his jacket. "I've--I've got to go! Ron is going to be worried sick that I'm not home yet!"

Draco raised an eyebrow at Harry and sighed. "Don't wet yourself now, Potter. Just give him a ring."

"Give him a ring?" Harry asked, as though he'd never heard of such a thing before.

The blonde stared at Harry a few seconds longer before breaking into a fit of laughter. "Potter! You _are_ amusing! For someone who grew up in a Muggle home, you know so little of Muggle things," he said, pausing to take deep breaths and hold back more laughter. "Ring him, Potter. You know, use the telephone." Malfoy pointed to a phone mounted to the wall on the opposite side of the room.  
  
"Well, I didn't think you'd have a telephone, Malfoy! What with your undying love for Muggles and all." The sarcasm in Harry's voice was more than obvious.

"Ah, well," Draco began quietly, "the border between love and hate is somewhat thin these days, isn't it?"

Harry had never quite heard Ron so furious as he was when Harry called, and the image of Ron in that pink robe and slippers with curlers in yelling into the phone infiltrated his brain, leaving the dark haired man quite unsettled, and afraid to go home.

After trying -- and failing -- to help Malfoy clean up the dishes, Harry pulled his jacket on. With a quick look at his watch, he sighed, wondering if Hermione was still awake at quarter after one in the morning. And if not, if she would be willing to let him stay over if he were to wake her up at such an ungodly hour.

"What are you doing?" Draco asked, looking away from the dishes and over at Harry who was all but ready to leave.

"I'm going to see if I can stay at Hermione's place tonight -- Ron needs to cool off before I try going home."

"But," Draco began, almost running a soap covered hand through his hair before catching himself and lowering it back to the water in the sink, "you're already here. Why don't you stay?"

-------

Harry stood looking out a sliding glass door that leas to a small balcony wrapped in a fleece throw blanket and wearing a pair of pajamas that would either be too big or too small, depending on what day it was. Yes, height was, as petty as it seems, something the two partners would fight over, as they fought over everything that is debatable. The solution, though, ridiculous, had been Harry's own idea. On Monday and Tuesday, Harry would be taller than Draco, and on Thursday and Friday, Draco would be the taller of the two. Wednesdays and weekends were every-other. And it being a Thursday night, the pajamas were a bit too bit on Harry -- or so the deal would say. Truthfully, though, Draco did stand a few centimeters above Harry, even on Mondays and Tuesdays and every other Wednesday. And Harry was well aware of this.

But, to avoid another fight over nothing, Harry worse the pajama bottoms extra-low on his hips so they at least looked a little bigger than they were. It was please Malfoy, if nothing else.

"Gonna stare out at London all night?" Draco asked, walking up behind Harry. "Come on, there's a better view in here." The blonde led Harry through the kitchen and into the small bedroom. Another set of sliding glass doors lead to a second balcony there against the far wall. Leading Harry over, Draco unlocked the door and stepped out onto the balcony, a cool night breeze nipping at his pale cheeks.

"Looks peaceful, doesn't it?" Harry asked, leaning on the railing.

"Sure does," Draco replied quietly. He walked over and stood beside Harry, wondering just what was going through his mind. A smile crept onto his lips, quite without his consent, and he found himself gazing longingly at his partner.

Harry could feel Draco's gaze upon him, and it made him feel uneasy -- sort of like a mouse cornered by an alley cat, only not quite so 'I'm going to eat you' threatening. "Malfoy, tell me," he said, quickly turning and taking a small step back from the railing. "What's it like to have grown up with a family?" The question was out of place, and out of order, for sure, but it certainly did what Harry intended -- it made Draco take a few steps back and change his expression.

"What?" he asked, "You've got to be kidding me, Potter!" He furrowed his eyebrows in what almost seemed like disappointment. "Anyone could tell my family wasn't exactly. . . family."

"It's more that what I ever had," Harry said with a half smile. "I didn't have parents, you know. And Sirius was lost before I even had my chance to live with him. I spent seventeen years of my life living with people who hated me -- maybe even more than you did."

"I never hated you, Potter," Draco said quietly. "Actually, you rather acted like you hated me, I just returned the favor. But now we don't have to worry about our families loving or hating us. We can love each other. You'll love me, right Potter?"* Draco grinned and leaned closer to his partner as Harry turned a horribly ghastly shade of pale.

"W-what?" Harry stammered, backing up until his back hit the railing.

Draco laughed and tweaked Harry's nose gently. "Dork," he said, "don't be so serious, alright?"* The blonde stood tall and smiled, beaming. "Well then, partner, lets turn in. It's getting quite late."

"Hey, uh. . . Draco. . . wait"  
  
Harry watched was Draco walked back into the bedroom, leaving the door open behind him. _"I wonder if Draco likes guys,"_ he thought to himself, debating whether or not he should sleep on the balcony. _"I know he hasn't had a girlfriend since sixth year, and he hasn't exactly been trying hard to get one. But, he never acts like this in the office. Is he really like this? Which Draco is just an act? I don't know. I just don't know anything about him at all, really. I don't know, but it seems deeper than he played off. Then again, I better not obsess over his sexual orientation or I might have to admit things to myself."_*

Trying his best to shake away the thoughts, Harry followed Draco into the bedroom, sliding the door shut and locking it before pulling the curtain closed and finding his way through the darkness to Draco's bed.

__

"Sweet dreams, Harry. . ."

*1 - "But you'll love me, won't you?" -- Fake! vol. 1, page 23, spoken by Dee.  
*2 - "Dork! It's a joke idiot. Don't take everything so seriously." -- Fake! vol. 1, page 23 spoken by Dee.  
*3 - "I wonder if Dee likes guys? It doesn't seem like he has a girl. But I just don't know about him. I don't know anything about him. But what he said just now, it seemed deeper than he played off. On the other hand, I better stop obsessing over his sexuality or I'm going to have to finally admit some stuff about myself." -- Fake! vol. 1, page 24, thought by Ryo.

__

A/N - Look, I fixed my messed up Italics! Yay!

And, I wanted to thank L33T PHR33K for pointing out to me that I forgot my Fake! disclaimers. Actually, yes, this _is_ based on Fake! thought it is not an HP versions (might say it's inspired by Fake! and will have some of the same situations.) And I was almost positive I said so in my disclaimer, but upon checking it again saw it wasn't there! I suppose I was remembering my fictionalley disclaimer addition. I've re-uploaded new files for chapters one and two with disclaimers at the top of each and will keep them there from now on.

Please, if anyone else spots something wrong, let me know!  


Luv Rohir Neph


End file.
